Encapsulation
Microfluidics not only allowed the production of controlled and monodispersed droplets, it allowed researchers to use these droplets as tiny reservoirs to isolate single cells and other particles. Imagine the orders of magnitude in resolution gain that became possible when we moved from bulk observations to analysis of individual cells. That’s the power of encapsulation.
And, of course, we could not let this powerful technique slide by us. The MIC is implicated in several encapsulation projects in a variety of applications, as you can see below.
DarChemDN, Darwinian Chemistry in Droplets
Mixing microfluidics and chemistry results in a whole new field of study: evolutionary chemistry.
The goal is to create self-replicating inorganic molecules by encapsulating autocatalytic systems in confined compartments (GA no. 101119956).
The MIC provides the microfluidics expertise to produce high-throughput monodisperse droplets encapsulating these systems. If you want to know more, visit the project’s page here.
NAP4DIVE, nanoparticle optimisation to cross the blood-brain-barrier
Crossing the blood-brain-barrier to deliver drugs to the brain is still very challenging. The goal of the NAP4DIVE project is to test different types of nanocompartments encapsulating compounds of interest and optimised for membrane crossing, in a bbb-on-chip model (GA no. 101155875).
The MIC is responsible for developing the microfluidic circuit that feeds the cells inside bbb-on-chip and carries the nanoparticles until the membrane. If you want to know more about the project, visit the project page.
Bio-hHost, artificial cells to influence living cell interactions
Cells are in constant interaction with one another. The Bio-hHost project wants to understand these interactions in depth by creating realistic 3D tissue models that mix artificial cells and living cells (GA no. 101130747).
The MIC is in charge of developing the platform that will keep the 3D tissue models in good condition on top of the microscope stage without the need for a CO2 incubator or incubator chamber. Get to know more about the project following the link!
Voxwrite, 4D printing with microfluidics
Additive manufacturing, especially 3D printing, has become a consolidated technology in construction and prototyping. The Voxwrite project wants to take it one step further, using droplet-based microfluidics to design more complex materials (project no. ANR-23-CE10-0018-02).
The MIC is developing the microfluidic sequential injection device to produce resin droplets with varying compositions and employ them in 3D printing processes. To know more about Voxwrite, follow the link!
References
- Iftikhar, S., A. Vigne, and J.E. Sepulveda-Diaz, Droplet-based microfluidics platform for antifungal analysis against filamentous fungi. Scientific Reports, 2021. 11(1): p. 22998.